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7 



EULOGY 



UPON THE 



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77^ 



LIFE, CHARACTER AND DEATH 



OF 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON, 



DELIVERED ON THE 19tII OF JULY, 1845, 



By LINCOLN CLARK : 



BEFORE THE 



SOCIETIES AND CITIZENS OF TUSCALOOSA. ; 



AND 



PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST. 



TUSCALOOSA: 

PRINTED BY M. D. J. SLADE. 

1845. 



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EULOGY 



My Friends and Fellow-Citizens : — We come in our con- 
templations and services this day, to stand beside the grave. 
And v^rherefore? Mortality is inherent in the very constitution of 
man; and time in its never ceasing motion, is carrying our fel- 
low-beings by night and by day to this narrow and gloomy house. 

Death is ever doing its v^^ork, and yet the great masses do not 
pause to consider, or to mingle their sympathies with the little 
circle, in the midst of which, and in each of whose hearts there 
is a vacant place. 

But this is an event which is felt beyond the private circle, 
and makes a nation mourn. I do not, however, regard it as an oc- 
casionin which the gushing fountains of the heartare to be broken 
up in grief. True, it is one to whose associations the finer feel- 
ings vibrate; but with those sacred and subdued emotions which 
are under the dominion of deep and absorbing contemplation. 

Is it a matter of sorrow that a strong man has run his race, 
and that too, so as to have won? That a great man should have 
achieved all that was allotted him by an over-ruling Providence? 
That a good man should have filled up the measure of his use- 
fulness, and performed his works of philanthrophy and religion? 



When the sun wliich rose behind a cloud has, by his own un- 
borrowed power, put to flight the darkness that obscured -his 
face, and gone up to his meridian with increasing brightness, 
I and down towards his western goal, though with diminished ef- 
ficacy, yet with deeper hues, and a broader circumference, un- 
til at last he is hid from our sight, we do not pause to deplore 
his departure; but we gaze with admiration upon the glories he 
has left behind him; we scan,'with eagerness and delight, the 
sublime and heavenly forms which seem to have gathered there 
to bid him their holy farewell, and their God-spaed, as he goes 
upon his way to enlighten other lands and other eyes. 

It is true, my friends, the occasion which has called us to- 
gether, is not one of festivity, but of deep and pervading so- 
lemnity, in which each for himself, and for all, feels an absorb- 
ing interest. None has come in hither, to-day, an idle spectator, 
to gratify an idle curiosity: but all are conscious ih^t the illus- 
trious dead was their friend and benefactor; not in the hollow- 
heartedness of selfish ambition, seeking first his own pro- 
motion, and then whatever of good might chance to flow as a 
secondary consequence to his countrymen. No, no ! The man 
whose death has brought together this vast assemblage, was 
i devoted to us and our immediate neighbors, to such a degree 
\ and in such a sense, as to command the everlasting admiration 
• and gratitude of ourselves and our children after us. For the peo- 
\ pic of Alabama he offered himself a willing sacrifice; and though 
the Most High, in our behalf, accepted his services, and blessed 
the devotion of his great mind and generous heart, to the safety, 
and peace, and temporal salvation of our people, He suffered 
him not to become a sacrifice, but preserved him for broader 
spheres of usefulness, and higher degrees of glory. If the peo- 
ple of any one State owe a larger debt of gratitude than those of 
another, it may surely be justly charged to us. But it is not in 
this limited sense in which I would commemorate the virtues 



I 



and the character of the great man whose image is in everymind, ^ 



whose name is upon every tongue. In other days, the Great 
Spirit above commanded the ruthless hand and the savageheart, 
saying, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm:" 
And when here the tomahawk and the arrow were not permitted 
to do their office, who shall say that the guiding mind of an all- 
pervading Divinity was not there, to decree that the develop- 
ments of future energies and yet hidden wisdom should consti- 
tute a nation's bulwark, and future achievements a nation's re- 
nown, and future character a nation's legacy. 

When I remember the magnitude of this occasion and the 
corresponding duties which it casts upon me; when I remem- 

i ber that here are those high in station, the public functionaries 
of the land, and those who sit at the fountains of knowledge and 
of wisdom, depending upon me for interest, if not instruction, I 
feel that the service which I have undertaken is to be tremb- 
lingly performed ; and were I at liberty, I should suffer myself 
to be tempted to leave you to the silent contemplations which 
the theme itself awakens, and to that almost embodied spirit of 
inspiration which carries the mind back to the imperishable re- 
cord, and forward to the sacredness of the inner temple, the 
abode of the soul. 

The man whose eulogy we this day pronounce, came p 
down to this generation with the principles, the zeal, and 
the devotion which were taught in the truest and purest 
political school the world has ever seen. Andrew Jackson 
derived his clear and deeply settled principles of liberty from 
the fathers of the revolution as from the living teacher, and the 
whole conformation of his public character from the stirring 
events of revolulfonary times. With him freedom was not a 
matter of fiction and of song, but a palpable, inappreciable pri- 
vilege; for even in his youth he had felt the hand of the oppres- 
sor, and seen his thousand victims quivering in his iron j 



6 



\ 

grasp. It is impossible to calculate the results of early instruc- 
tion, especially when sealed with the impress of momentous facts. 
I know they will not of themselves make the man, where na- 
ture has failed to lay the inward foundation: But many even 
with this last endowment, have lived to themselves and died un 
known to fame, because no propitious influences have devel 
oped their powers, and given them an impetus for the doing of 
mighty deeds. Though but a stripling, Jackson acted with 
the men of 76; and most thoroughly did he imbibe their doc 
trines; most deeply did he drink into their spirit, and most indeli 
bly has he transfused both into the institutions of his country 

I He has come down to us from revolutionary times as the repre- 
sentative of its genius, its devotion and unconquerable energy ; 
and though the very last scion of that stock, it has taken deep 
root, and projected high and spread wide its branches, till all 
have seen its grandeur, and millions have felt that they enjoyed 
protection and repose beneath its refreshing shade. And most 
sincerely do I trust, that if there be any here who think they 
see upon this magnificent growth the apples of Sodom, which, 
while they are beautiful to behold, are bitter to the taste, they 
may Uve to see that there is no delusion, and that their children 
after them may be nourished by the living fruit. 

Andrew Jackson was born on the 15th day of March, 
1767, in the Waxhaw settlement in the State of South-Ca- 
rolina, in the present District of Lancaster. His ancestors were 
Scotch, and the family from which he descended, at a remote 
period emigrated to the province of Ulster in Ireland. They 
were Presbyterians of the strictest sect, and it is said transmit- 

: ted a goodly portion of their religion and their dialect to their 
descendants of the present age. History does «ot carry us back 
in the line of descent to any individual beyond the grand-father. 
He was a linen-draper of Carrickfcrgus in Ireland: his young- 
est son, who was the j'athcr of the distinguished subject of our 






consideration, emigrated in 1765 from Ireland, and settled in 
that part of South-Carolina which we have mentioned. And 
when we have related these facts, we have told the whole story 
of the genealogy of the son of the emigrant,' who fled from op- 
pression and convulsions as he fled from his native land ; of | 
the orphan boy who was the master of his own fortunes ; of : 
the warrior and the statesman, who has made his impress where- 
ever the hand or the mind has touched. And here permit me 
to ask, who will refuse to do homage to that system of public 
economy, to that tribunal of public opinion and judgment which 
awards the meed of praise to the meritorious, and the place of; 
power to those whom the God of nature has blessed with ade- 
quate endowments. I do not believe the Divine hand, since the 
days of the Jewish Theocracy, has ever made a king. But it 
has created many men, whom others as simple as themselves, 
have thought fit to sit upon thrones, whilst yet they knew not 
whether they would be wise men or fools ; and they called it 
the rule of Divine right. But when I see one in the masses, upon 
the great and even platform of human society, with no such ad- 
vantages as the arbitrary rules of men have secured, by force 
of his mental powers and moral perceptions, directing his way 
to high places among his fellows, I am ready to conclude that 
he is fulfilling his destiny, and that when he has reached the high- 
est point of authority, he rules more by Divine right than the 
suckling who is born with a sceptre in his hands. 

Jackson never shared a father's care, was never guided by a 
father's counsel, for he never knew a father's face. From his 
very infancy he was left to a mother's love, and such provision 
as the most slender means could furnish ; all of which consisted 
of a farm, from which the forests were yet to be cleared, before 
the sun and the soil could unite to produce a subsistence. 
From such ability as this, we may readily see how diflicult it 
was to secure for her three sons the benefitss of an education. 



8 



which she felt was so necessary to their future respectability 
and advancement. Struggling with the difficulties around her, 
she sought to impart to the two oldest a common school educa- 
tion only. But in the devotion of a mother's heart, the heart of ■ 
a Christian mother, she sought to give the youngest to the 
services of the church. And in pursuance of this purpose he 
was placed at the Waxhaw Academy, where he made some 
progress in the learned languages. And here again we see, or 
at least the eye of faith thinks it sees, the interposition of a High- 
er power. Far be it from me to depreciate, even in thought, the 
noble work, to which a mother's pious heart had designated him: 
But here was another voice, calling to other and different labors, 
with other and different results. 

When Moses was the servant of the priest of Midian, there 
came to him a heavenly messenger with authority to constitute 
him the deliverer of the people of the Most High. And when 
this man, so valiant for the truth, and against his enemies, with 
unaffected humility enquired, " Who am I, that I should go unto 
Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the cliildren of Israel out 
of Egypt ?" — the messenger replied, " I will be with thee, and 
this shall be a token that I have sent thee ; when thou hast 
brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon 
this mountain." Let me not be supposed to institute too familiar 
a parallelism between sacred and profane things ; but who shall 
dare to say, that when great things have been accomplished for 
a glad and prosperous people, the influences which have pro- 
duced such results are profane things, unsanctioned by Him who 
rulcth over all ? 

Although no revelations speak with an audible voice to the 
car of sense ; though no angel utters the words of authority 
from the burning bush ; who shall say that the spirit from above 
docs not speak to the inward spirit of the man, at least in a sense 
to create new feelings, to induce new thoughts, to spread out 



9 



\ new motives, to impart new energies, to lead to new conclu- \ 

\ sions, to open appropriate fields for contemplation and action ? \ 

\ For myself, let who may treat lightly the thought, I believe ; 

; that man is in this sense the subject of a Power, above him, \. 

\ which he cannot control. In this sense, the declaration of in- ; 

; spired truth is realized — " a man's heart deviseth his way : but \ 

\ the Lord directeth his steps." And how indubitable is the evi- \ 
'■ . ' 

\ dence of this truth, when the token which was to be its sanction \ 

\ is revealed and verified, " ye shall worship on this mountain." \ 
' At the commencement of the Revolutionary war, Jackson \ 
\ was but eight years of age. And although its ravages had not \ 
\ then reached the peaceful settlers of the Waxhaws, the spirit of \ 
\ the times had stirred the patriots there — there the clarion had \ 
\ sounded ; not then, it is true, to summon to the battle — but to ; 
\ prepare for its coming. He beheld the active preparation for \ 
\ war, and from maternal lips he had been taught how noble was \ 
\ love of country. But at length the invader came, and with ; 
\ him, the time to test the principles and endurance of the Wax- J, 
\ haw people. ', 

\ On the 20th day of May, the British officer, Tarleton, whose \ 
\ name is somewhat familiar in revolutionary annals, brought the \ 
\ war within their borders, and on that day butchered one bun- \ 
\ dred and thirteen men, and wounded one hundred and fifty \ 
\ more ; and for these the Waxhaw meeting-house was convert- \ 
\ ed into a hospital. There, in the temple of God, the youthful ;' 
\ soldier first looked upon the devastations of war, and beheld its \ 
\ bloody foot-steps. And if the ancient but magnanimous Heath- \ 
\ en could consecrate his son to the service of his country, upon ; 
\ the altar of superstition, and there make him swear eternal ha- ; 
\ tred to her enemies ; with \\o\\ much loftier aspirations might \ 
; the orphan boy, who in after times was to lead his country's ar- ', 
I mies to successful conflict with his country's foes, receive in the I 
\ sacred temple of the living Divinity the unction that was to pre- i 



10 



; pare him for his work ? Jackson's first military service was \ 
\ performed under Davie and Sumter, in their attack upon a Brit- ; 
\ ish post called Hanging Rock. Here they fought with a brave- ; 
I ry and determination that routed alike the Tory and the Brit- I 
I ton — he was then thirteen years old. His next exploit was one I 
I of signal coolness and courage. In those times when danger \ 
\ lay in every path, and was borne upon every breeze, he with \ 
; seven others undertook the protectionof the family of a zealous ; 
; patriot from an attack of the Tories by night. And true it was \ 
\ they were not without service to perform. Whilst his com- \ 
\ panions were cut down by his side, he maintained his ground, \ 
\ and with unfaltering courage plied his instrument of death, and ; 
\ thus kept at bay, the most ignoble and hyena enemies that ever ; 
\ infested society with their sneaking, sickening and malignant ; 
\ scourges, until succor came, and they were put to flight. In the \ 
\ progress and fortunes of war, we find him next a prisoner in the \ 
\ hands of the enemy, the inmate of a dungeon ; worn down with \ 
\ starvation, disease and filth, to the very borders of death ; which ; 
\ he bore with a patience and fortitude commensurate with the \ 
\ undaunted spirit with which he always looked danger in the \ 
; face. ; 

.' These incidents in a man of mature years and tried experi- \ 
; ence might not be regarded as betokening with certainty, future ; 
\ greatness : But in the youth of fourteen, I think all will agree, \ 
''- that they are evidences of native stamina, which cultivated and \ 
\ expanded, could not fail to secure a name and place, which are \ 
\ not for the many, but the few. These incidents, at least, serve \ 
\ to show the school in which the hero and the philosopher re- \ 
\ ceived his first most vivid, impressive and effectual lessons of \ 
; wisdom. - ; 

\ The child of bereavement, but of glorious destiny, is no long- \ 
\ er allied to mortal beings, save in a remote degree — the hearts \ 
''. faithful in counsel and affection, beat no more. His brothers \ 



11 



were victims to his country's scourge, and for their country's 
good. His mother went on a mission of mercy with others of i 
her sex, to the hundreds of her captive countrymen, confined by 
the enemy after the fall of Charleston, to the prison-ship, that 
she might minister to their necessities ; but returned no more 
to the only child that English oppression had spared her. From 
those to whom she carried relief, she contracted a contagious 
disease — she died in the land of the stranger, and none could 
ever guide the anxious enquirer to the spot, where the deep, 
warm fountain of a mother's love was forever sealed, that he 
might plant there the ever-green tree of memory, and water it 
with the tears of a sorrow which no tongue can utter. 

Thus left alone, with none to advise or restrain, lured by evil 
companions and evil examples, which greatly abounded in those 
days of unsettled habits, he verged towards the whirlpool of i 
dissipation : But with characteristic energy he determined to 
retrieve himself, and to open a new channel for the occupation 
of his thoughts, and his time ; and accordingly he left the place 
of his nativity, and commenced the study of the law in Salisbury, 
North-Carolina, at the age of seventeen. He was now as per- 
severing in study, as before he was in the pursuit of mere plea- 
sure. His instructor, who was a distinguished Judge, has re- 
corded no faint testimony in favor of his talents and his charac- 
ter, and with great confidence predicted for him the highest dis- 
tinction. 

Soon after Jackson had entered upon his professional avoca- 
tions, he emigrated in company with his distinguished friend, 
Judge M'Nairy, at the age of twenty-one, to the then broad 
and comparatively unbroken wilderness of Tennessee. To an 
audience like this, it is scarcely necessary to detail the condition 
of the early settlers of the wilderness. The hardship, the pri- 
vation, and the dangers would be. incredible to those who have 
never gone beyond the sound of a mother's voice, or the luxuries 



1^ 

I of a father's bounty. When you remember the almost imper- 
vious wilderness, rearing its gigantic forms to Heaven, and how 
slow must be the process of hewing down and conquering such 
( an enemy, in order to obtain a rough subsistence — the unhewn 
\ cabin, the puncheon floor, the puncheon seats, and the puncheon 
table; and a foe in the shape of a hostile Indian behind every 
bush, ready to greet with the message of death the first form 
which should disclose itself; insomuch that whole families 
were often sacrificed to the demoniac spirit of the savage, on 
I their way to a new-sought, but unseen home ; and insomuch 
I that the settlers were often compelled to band together in com- 
pact little settlements denominated " stations,'' for the purpose 
\ of common protection : When you remember that a man's tra- 
veling companion was always his rifle — his hotel at night, was 
I the ground beneath him, and the sky above him — that he must 
1 receive the greetings of the storms as those of friends ; I think 
you will agree with me, that though these constitute but a poor 
5 school for the eflfeminate son of ease and indolence, it was one 
which opened to the determined spirit of perseverance, the high 
I way to usefulness and renown. And so it was to Jackson ; 
j having " put his hands to the plough," there was but one course 
I for him, and that was forever onward, without ever looking 
\ back. It was in the midst of such scenes and trials, and as one 
\ of such a people, that he acquired much of that moral and phy- 
^ sical education, which so eminently fitted him for the after duties 
\ of life. Here the frame was nerved to toil, and the soul to dan- 
ger in every shape, from the angry flood that lay in the way, to 
the stealthy arrow by its side. Often was he one of a little escort 
to protect the emigrant's family on their journey through the 
wilderness to their new homes, and often was he numbered with 
I the little band which repelled the attack of the savages upon 
the stations, or drove them back to their dark retreats. So 
effectually was the service which he rendered upon these occa- 



13 

^ -^ ^^ 

! sions, felt by those upon whom their seventy fell, that he was < 
denominated Sharp Knife. It is interesting to trace back to 
their sources the influences which have developed the resour- 
ces of the mind, given conformation to the character, and laid \ 
the foundation for eminence and power, beyond it may be the 
fanciful day-dreams of the man himself. It is true. Provi- 
dence may have furnished the materials, but the hand cf j 
the man hath seized and fashioned, and madethem his own. 
You see upon the structure as it goes up, the impress of 
his own genius, the features which are but the counterpart 
of himself. And were I addressing myself to-day to all the 
young men of the land, who burn with a virtuous ambition 
to make their mark high upon the roll of fame, I would say to 
them in the light of the example before them, learn to despise 
ease— make toil, and if necessary, hardship, your familiar 
friends — for you will find that ease and greatness were never 
companions. Often have I known the useful aspirant to imbibe 
the theory of greatness, as by the astral lamp of some princely 
hall, he read the story of the hero, or scholar, who had placed 
his name upon the imperishable record — but the long sweet 
slumbers of a downy bed and rosy pillow lured to perdition all 
his high resolutions, and they lived but for a moment in fancy 
and in fiction. 

Upon Jackson's first emigration to the West, he settled in \ 
East Tennessee ; the streams of emigration had not then reach- 
ed the Cumberland. Shortly after, however, that most beau- 
tiful country attracted no little attention, and thither he shortly 
removed. Upon his first arrival in that part of the State, there 
was but one licensed lawyer in West Tennessee ; and the debt- 
or class there, which was by no means weak, had conspired to 
set their creditors at defiance, and had made a monopoly of the 
lone lawyer of the wilderness ; but when there was an acces- 
sion to the profession there in the person of the then unpracticed 



14 



barrister, the creditors were as much disposed to make a mono- 1 
poly of him, as the debtors were of his professional companion: 
the consequence was that he immediately instituted a multi- 
tude of suits, at which the lawless men of the new settlements 
showed signs of hostility, and threatened to inflict their venge- 
ance ; but they " mistook their man," as thousands have since. 
And there was no longer a combination to impede the course 
of justice, and to trample the law under foot. 

He had now fairly embarked upon his professional career ; 
and as we have seen, in the midst of commotion and strife. To 
these he seemed to have been born as to an inheritance either 
for good or evil ; in the midst of these he commenced his ca- 
reer upon the earth ; he encountered them as he entered the 
precincts of manhood ; and they thickened upon him in the pro- 
gress of his eventful life : but never, in all their dark and fear- 
ful combinations, did they prove too strong for him. In the 
midst of them all, might be seen his towering form, like the 
lofty oak around which the elements have wawed, and still it is 
there, unhumbled and strong. 

He was now, with an eager and honest mind, devoted to the 
duties of his profession. In his hands, the law, if not plied with 
the subtlety and refinements which mark the skill, and the art- 
ful power of the special pleader, was a system by which justice, 
in its freest and fullest measures, was administered to all. 

In 1795, the people of Tennessee took measures for the form- 
ation of a State Govei'nment ; and Jackson was a member of 
the Convention to which was committed the high and all-impor- 
tant trust of forming a Constitution ; and this instrument bears 
the impress of his principles and his feelings. Its provisions are 
of a more liberal scope, and more democratic tendency than 
those of the Constitution of the parent State. This, however, 
in the minds of some, might be regarded as of doubtful expedi- 
ency and slender advantage : And well it might, if the principle 



15 



which lies at the foundation of the theory of Republican govern- 
ment, is false. I mean the principle of self-government in the 
I people ; by which I suppose is meant, not any segment of so- 
ciety, but the whole people. If this principle be founded in er- 
ror, then the more rapidly you steal the power from the many 
and concentrate it in the few, the more good will you have done 
for mankind. But if there is truth in the principle, then he who 
draws from it the largest amount of legitimate consequences, 
has made himself a civil benefactor. 

Upon the admission of Tennessee as a State, Gen. Jackson 
was her first and only representative. In this capacity he serv- 
ed but one year, having been elected the next to the Senate 
of the United States. In this, last station he remained but a 
year. During his connection with Congress, he was distinguish- 
ed for sound views and judicious action, by which he realized 
the expectations of his constituents, and secured the confidence 
of all with whom he was associated. At the age of thirty, he 
was placed upon the bench of the Supreme Court of his State. 
In this new field of public service, he remained six years, and 
then, as a matter of choice, withdrew, as he supposed, to more 
congenial employments, and a more quiet life. ' And this ex- 
pectation seems to have been realized during the space of eight 
years, from the time he laid aside his judicial dignities, until the 
war of 1812 ; not however, without vicissitudes and trials, 
which he endured as became himself. 

We next find the man whose death we now deplore, in a new 
field of duty. Before he left his judicial station, he was 
invested with the highest military command which his 
State could bestow : and the time was now rapidly drawing 
near, which would test his devotion, and his talents, and open 
to him new scenes, from which he was to acquire living honors. 
It was not for such a spirit as this devoted patriot possessed, 
to remain in inglorious ease, when his country's battles were to 



16 



I be fought, and the proud dominion of the Britton to be repelled. 
Accordingly, soon after the declaration ofwa?-, we find him ten- 
dering his own services, with 2,500 of the brave men of his 
command, to the Government. The tender was accepted to 
the amount of 1,500. But so eager was the desire of those no- 
ble sons of liberty, to do for their country's honor and protection, 
under a leader so w^orthy of their sentiments and their trust, 
that more than two thousand heeded- his call, and rallied to his 
rendezvous ; with these he commenced his march on the 7th of 
January, 1813, to join Wilkinson at New-Orleans. Upon his 
arrival at Natchez he was requested by the officer last named 
to halt and report to him his force and instructions — this he did : 
and whilst holding himself in readiness to strike wherever an 
enemy should appear, he employed his time in effecting a more 
complete organization and dsicipline of his troops, and in pre- 
paring them for prompt and effectual service. In this condi- 
tion of things he receives without reason or comment, a laconic, 
cold, and heqrtless order from the Government, of dismissal 
from the service, both of his men and himself. Indignation was 
in every countenance, and denunciation upon every tongue. 
They had come, in a great^ measure unfurnished by the 
Government, to the Government's call ; they had endured 
cold and tempest ; they had acquired a good degree of discip- 
line ; and they were ready with unabated courage, to meet the 
foe they had come to seek. 

From the tenor of the order of the Secretary of War, it could 
not be doubted that it was the design, that they should be dis- 
banded upon the spot which they occupied, more than five hun- 
dred miles from their homes, and that they should deliver their 

^ tents and the publicarms to the officer in command at New- 
Orleans. The clue to this ungracious and extraordinary course, 
is supposed to be found in the following extract of a letter from 
Gen. Wilkinson to the chagrined and restive commander of the 



17 



\ Tennessee troops of that date. In reference to the occasion ; 

\ which blasted their high expectations he said, " You have it ; 

; still in your power to render a most acceptable service to our ; 
' . ... J 

; Government, by encouraging the recruiting service from the ; 

\ patriotic soldiers you command, in an appropriate general or- ; 

\ der." But time and results showed, as they often do in the af- \ 

I fairs of men, how little the author of this sentiment understood ; 

'' . \ 

', himself, or the man to whom it was addressed. Little did he \ 

', / 

; think when he wrote it, that it would be a record in future times ; 
\ to call to remembrance the forge tfulness into which he had pass- ; 
; ed, and that upon the very spot which he then occupied, the \ 
\ man who was to act a part subservient to him, would place the '; 
; crown of immortality upon his own head. \ 

' ----. ' 

\ The order was but partially obeyed — to have complied lite- \ 
\ rally, would have made him recreant to his high trust, and to \ 
\ the dictates of humanity. This army was composed of his fel- \ 
\ low-citizens, his neighbors, and his friends: and there was many \ 
\ a youth, not picked from the lowest scenes of vice, to go upon \ 
\ some wild adventure for his own pastime ; but whom he had ; 
\ received from the hands of a patriot father, and the warm em- ; 
\ braces of a mother, but who yet loved her country more, with \ 
\ the sacred assurance that when he had done his country's bid- ; 
; dins he should be returned, to the comforts and the sanctuary l 
;' which he had left. ; 

\ But now came the trying crisis. The Government no long- \ 
\ er considered these men who had volunteered at her call, as a ; 
; part of her own army. They were without provisions, with- \ 
\ out transports for the sick, and without money ; and how were \ 
\ they to accomplish the long journey before them at a most in- ; 

^ ^ 

\ clement season 1 Their General, ever fruitful in mental re- \ 

\ sources, and still more in the ardent emotions of a noble heart, \ 

i readily devised the ways and means. Of a merchant in Natchez, I 
'', '', 

\ he borrowed upon his own responsibility, $5,000,for the accom- \ 



18 



; plishment of the purpose before him ; with this he purchased \ 
\ supplies and wagons for the transportation of the sick. And ; 
\ here I cannot forbear the relation of an incident, which though '\ 
\ in itself may seem trivial, yet in my mind goes far to show the j 
\ character of the man. There were not wagons, enough for \ 
\ the transportation of all whose condition required it : among the '\ 
\ sick was a young man who was reported by the surgeon to be \ 
\ in a dying condition, and whom as he thought it was useless to j 
! remove. The reply of never desponding humanity was, " Not a ; 
' man shall be left who has life in him." With a father's anxiety { 
\ he rode by the apparently dying youth : the motion in his new \ 
\ position caused him to open his eyes, and to exclaim, " Where ; 
\ am I ?" The answer of ever-enduring kindness, was, " On \ 
\ your way home, my son !" From that moment, cheered by the ; 
\ voice of one who he knew cared for him, and would watch \ 
\ over him, he began to revive, and was in due time restored to ; 
\ health and home. Such an incident is worth a volume of glory, ; 
\ acquired in heartless selfishness, and emblazoned in bloodshed ; 
; for the promotion of reckless ambition. \ 

\ Amidst the stirring events of 1813, it was not for such a man ; 
\ as General Jackson to rust in obscurity. He now enters the ; 
\ field where vigilant and untiring effort is demanded, against an \ 
\ enemy that never slumbers, which is always stimulated by an \ 
\ insatiable thirst for vengeance, and which could never be worn '; 
? down, or conquered, save by captivity or death ; in the morning \ 
? he was upon his prey from his hiding-places, and ere noon he \ 
'; was in the fastnesses of the swamp or the mountains. Stimula- \ 
\ ted by the eloquence of one of nature's loftiest spirits, (I mean ; 
\ Tecumseh,) and inspired by his deep and rankling hatred, and \ 
\ by the still more barbarous influence of British malignity and \ 
\ British bribery, the Creeks, a powerful and warlike tribe, dis- \ 
\ played their hostile designs in ravages and murder, and in every \ 
: demonstration of war. This master-spirit of whom 1 have spo- ; 



19 

! ken, in his deep knowledge of the springs of human action, not \ 
I so entirely dissimilar in the man of civilization and the savage, | 
seized upon the principle which is instinctive in the heart of man, ^ 
whether you call it religion or fanaticism ; whether it be true or \ 
false, it is still a most effectual medium for the action of the con- | 
troling mind ; and you find it ajike in the Christian, the disciple 
of Mahomet, the Fire-worshiper, and the devotee of the Great ) 
Spirit in the wilderness. Laying hold of this principle, Tecum- :; 
seh institutes and sends abroad his prophets, who inspire the 
tribes with a blind faith and implicit obedience. \ 

To concentrate their forces, and render them, as was suppos- 
ed, more effectual, and more disposable, the prophets persuaded >. 
the warriors to abandon their towns and congregate in camps. | 
^ Here they practiced the war-dance and listened to their fero- \ 
cious denunciations and wild predictions." They were made to > 
believe that they were impervious to instruments of death, or \ 
that they would pass and leave no trace behind. | 

In this condition of things the Government makes requisition ] 
for a force, for the invasion of the Creeks, at the head of which > 
General Jackson was placed. After innumerable delays, and 
most vexatious difficulties, arising from jealousy in the command, 
and the most culpable negligence in supplying the requisite pro- 
visions, he is ready, with but a small portion of his entire force, 
to assume his march for the heart of the Creek country. One- \ 
half of his command detailed from East Tennessee, had not as ^ 
yet formed a junction with that portion which Jackson com- 1 
manded in person. But no time is to be lost, for savage hordes 
are doing their work of death, not only upon the frontier settle- ( 
ments, and the unprotected traveler, but upon their own breth- \ 
ren who refused to join in their merciless butcheries. \ 

s 

I feel that I should do injustice to the sentiments and charac- \ 
tcr of this magnanimous chief, were I to pass over in silence, | 
the soul-stirring address which he delivered to his command at \ 



20 

I their place of rendezvous, before they were put in motion for 
I their scenes of action. 

" Our borders," said he " must no longer be disturbed with 
\ " the war-whoop of these savages, or the cries of their suffering 
« victims. The torch that has been lighted up must be made to 
I " blaze in the heart of their own country. It is time that they 
; " should be made to feel the weight of a power, which because 
I " it was merciful, they believed to be impotent. But how shall 
\ " a war, so long forborne, and so loudly called for by retributive 
i "justice, be waged 1 Shall we imitate the example of our ene- 
" mies in the disorder of their movements, and the savageness 
5 " of their dispositions ? Is it worthy of the character of Ameri- 
; " can soldiers, who take up arms to redress the wrongs of an in- 
1 " jured country, to assume no better model than that furnished 
5 « by barbarians ? No, fellow-soldiers ; great as are the griev- 
" ances which have called us from our homes, we must not per- 
" mit disorderly passions to tarnish the reputation we will carry 
" along with us. We must and will be victorious ; but we must 
I " conquer as men who owe nothing to chance; and "who in the 
\ " midst of victory, can still be mindful of what is due to hu- 
\ " manity." 

I Such sentiments as these dwelt in no groveling mind — they 
< were worthy of the patriot ; they would have been worthy of 
I the christian. They were no idle exponent of feelings that did 
I not exist ; and were a fit rebuke to those who boasted of a re- 
\ finement and a philanthrophy, which existed in name, more than 
in fact. 

A few days found these guardians of their country's safety, in 
\ the very midst of their country's enemies. On the 2d of No- 
vember, General Coffee, with one thousand men, crossed the 
Coosa, and the next dawning day found him advancing to the 
attack of Talluschatchee. The Indians, under the power of 
the prophet's delusions, believing themselves invulnerable, salu- 



21 



ted their approach with every demonstration of resistance and 
fury. But they were driven back to their buildings, and there 
they fought with a desperation that knew no abatement so long 
as there was one that could point a rifle or raise a tomahawk : 
186 men of the forest saw not the sun go down, and among 
them the prophet's tongue was sealed. 

Here was struck the first signal blow, and administered the 
first signal rebuke to a cruel, insolent, and deluded people, 
whose minds seem never to have taken in the great principle of 
right, to be read as well in the religion of nature as of revela- 
tion, " that God made all nations to dwell upon the face of the 
earth." 

After the battle of Talluschatchee, Jackson takes post at Fort 
Strother upon the Coosa. Here he was in daily expectation of 
a re-inforcement under General White from East Tennessee, 
and with it, of an abundant supply of provisions to enable him 
to follow up the advantages already gained ; and while he was 
yet writing a dispatch to that officer, urging him to join him 
with all possible haste, he was informed late in the evening of that 
day, that the hostile Creeks had encamped in great numbers 
near a fort and town of friendly Indians, about thirty miles 
south of Foi't Strother. He immediately issues marching or- 
ders, and at midnight all his disposable force is in motion for 
the relief of his besieged allies; at 8 o'clock in the morning of 
the ensuing day, he moves to the attack of Talladega. For fif- 
teen minutes the battle rages on every side. There was the 
dreadful onset, and deadly repulse : there the horseman's sword 
and the Indian's tomahawk met in fatal collision ; and there the 
fugitives, as they sped for the mountains, nerved with the iron 
energies of despair if they looked behind, and with a gleam of 
hope as they stretched before, were cut down ; and out of 1080 
warriors of that field, 300 save one, ne'er shouted the war-whoop 
again, or molested the unwary sleeper in his fancied security. 



22 



After the battle of Talladega our patriotic commander was 
forced to encounter enemies more to be dreaded than those 
with arms in their hands — these were famine and mutiny ; and | 
to conquer these, more severely taxes the resources of the mind 
which controls, than to storm fortifications and Tout armies. 
Through the most culpable negligence, upon the very borders j 
of a land of plenty, starvation almost pervaded his ranks ; and 
the offal of the slaughter pen and the acorns, which the swine 
do eat, were their resort for the preservation of life. In this 
condition of things, and partly through a misunderstanding as to 
their term of service, mutiny pervaded regiments and brigades, 
and they determined to end their sufferings and their perils in 
an abandonment of their commander, and the service of their 
country. This was an hour of trial such as he had never seen. 
But he was equal to the occasion, enhanced in its difficulties as 
it was bv the fact that these men were his fellow-citizens, whose 
free suffrages had elevated him to the rank which he held. He 
rode along their lines, as they were drawn up for their home- 
ward march ; he addressed to them every argument of entrea- 
ty and remonstrance ; he reminded them of the reputation they 
had acquired by their former good conduct, and the ignominy 
which would fasten to the execution of their present design ; 
that he had no authority to discharge them ; that he was in daily 
expectation of supplies ; that their General fared as meanly and 
suffered as much as themselves ; that it was the fault of others 
that they felt the gnawings of hunger. He reminded them of 
their country's expectations, and their country's honor ; and how 
the signal advantages already gained would be given to the 
winds, if the service was now abandoned. " And now," said 
he," " argument is at an end, choose you now which you will 
" serve, your own will, or your country's necessities." No sound 
was uttered : all was still as the deadly atmosphere that pre- 
cedes the rumbling earthquake. He demanded an instant and 



23 



I unequivocal reply ; still there was the sullen silence of dogged | 
I determination, and the threatening look that betokened the in- 
< ward workings : remaining in front, he called upon a company \ 
of artillery upon which, he could rely to prepare their matches. | 
This was a moment of awful sublimity, and unsurpassed in the 
exhibition of moral power ; and it was successful. " Let us re- 
turn," was the murmur which ran along the lines. But^ con- 
strained is a useless service, and so he found it, and his force 
was reduced to one hundred men. In this situation, he applied 
to the Executive of Tennessee for speedy and ample re-inforce- 
ments by new levies ; but under the pretence, or the belief that 
he had no power, " he advised the veteran soldier to retire from 
" the Creek country, and content himself with defending the 
" frontiers, until the General Government should furnish him 
" with a force competent to the objects of the campaign." And 
I I would that time would permit me to pour out again the tor- 
rent of the soul's entreaty, the scorching rebuke, which he pour- 
ed upon that passive, doubling, refining depositary of civil pow- 
er. It is but a poor time to be weighing arguments in scales 
against straws and feathers, to be extracting from a statute or 
an order, cobweb questions of power, when the savage is 
I blazing his way, with fields in ruin, and houses in ashes, and 
I hearts in anguish. 

5 Re-inforced on the 13th of January, he passed in rapid suc- 
I cession to the first and second battles of Emuckfaw, and to that 
of Enotochopco, in all of which he obtained decisive victories, 
\ and a reputation that will never pass to " its sear and yellow 
I leaf." 

But his work was not yet done ; the Creeks were not yet sub- 
dued, They had collected in great numbers, and fortified with 
\ great care within a bend of the Tallapoosa, called Tohopeka, or 
\ the Horse Shoe. Thither, on the 27th of March, 1814, Jackson 
I led his entire force. Here the Indians rallied for their last great 



24 

effort : they knew that upon the fortunes of this day then- fate 
was hung. The position afforded great faciUties for defence ; 
its name indicated its outline : that part which was not sur- 
rounded with the river, was defended by a breast-work of 
brush and fallen timber ; upon this the artillery was brought to 
bear, but without success, as a trial of two hours proved. 
Within this fortification were one hundred acres of land, and 
near the breast-work a small village : seizing the Indian canoes 
which were left unguarded at a distant point. Coffee's men set 
fire to their village — but yet they would not be dislodged ; at 
length the order was given to storm, and received with accla- 
mations ; and they rushed to the deadly conflict, shoulder to 
shoulder, and breast to breast — the assailants fought with no 
forbearance, and the assailed as though life were no boon. Some 
of the latter took refuge among the brush and fallen timber up- 
on the cliffs of the river, from which they fired upon the victors. 
And here it is right to correct a false impression from a false 
statement. I remember often to have heard it said, that Jack- 
son's men, by his express orders, shot down the defenceless In- 
dian at this battle, when he was no longer in the attitude of re- 
sistance, and seeking a place of safety. In this position, Jack- 
son sent his interpreter within call, to assure them that their 
lives should be spared if they would surrender — to this they re- 
plied with a volley of musketry. But at length all was silent ; 
the cloud had spent its force ; the fire no longer gleamed upon 
its surface to tell of the magazine of destruction it contained, 
but its fatal work was to be found in the five hundred and fifty- 
seven warriors who had that day seen their last battle-field. 
Here the spirit of resistance was broken, and the Ishmaelite of 
the West taught to know, how vain it is to resist the progress 
and the spread of another race, whose way is guided by the 
light of science and religious truth. Here he was taught the 
lesson, if he would but receive it, that he has but a slender title 



25 



\ to his millions of fertile acres, so long as he suffers them to re- ; 
\ main an unbroken common, more for the sustenance of the wild \ 
; beast, than the use of man. In the bloody scene of Tohopeka. \ 
\ their camp-fires were extinguished, and their martial spirit was j 
I broken. It is melancholy to remember with what fatality they ': 
; pressed to their destruction ; that they were so slow to learn I 
I that the orgies of the idolater can not flourish by the side of the ; 
I christian worshiper. Who would not wish that they had been \ 
\ taught, as they are now being taught, that the interests of the ; 
\ red man and the white are one ; that the transforming power of ; 
; revealed truth must give them new habits and a new character. \ 
\ It is melancholy to think of their tribes extinct, an^the rem- ; 
\ nants that remain. And when the generations to come shall ; 
; learn from the tradition of their fathers, and the pages of histo-1 
; ry, what we are now taught by the still crumbling bones of ^ 
'; half a score of battle-fields within our own borders, they will ,; 
\ deplore their delusion and their end ; but they will reverence '; 
; the chivalrous and devoted spirit which has made them all clas- \ 
'. sic ground, each a monument of his glory, as enduring as the \ 
\ earth, and the record which is written upon the tablets of the \ 
\ heart ; and upon which they will tread lightly, as they will re- j 
; member that it is consecrated ground, baptized in blood and \ 
; tears, by the hand that was ever stretched out in deliverance ; 
; to the oppressed, and in terror to the oppressor. ; 

\ But I must not stop to recount all the noble deeds which go \ 
\ to make up the character of this man. I can only glance at a \ 
\ few, and leave you to your own reflections. In a military point \ 
\ of view, he was now the highest and brightest luminary. To \ 
\ him all eyes were turned as a new rampart of defence, and a •; 
; new terror to British veterans. Immediately after he had giv- i 
; en peace to the Indian country, he took station at Mobile. There ^ 
\ he repulsed the enemy at Fort Bowyer, and moved for New- \ 
\ Orleans. Upon this theatre remained to be exhibited the last \ 



26 



\ great scene of the tragedy. Upon this pouit were concentra- \ 
\ ted the thousands of England's bravest men. ; 

\ The enemy having experienced little but reverses in the ; 
i North, now determined to try his fortunes in the South. In ; 
; December, 1814, the British appeared in great force off New- ; 
i Orleans. On the 23d and 28th, and also on the first of Janua- \ 

; ry, the armies advanced to the attack and the repulse. At ;' 

; l 

\ length the great day, ever memorable in the annals of war, ; 
; drew on — the dav that was to seal the doom of thousands, and ; 

^ ** i 

{ in some sort, it was supposed, the fate of nations ; when Pack- ' 

/ r 

\ enham led his unshrinking hosts upon the American lines, in so- \ 

\ lid phalai^, as though by their very momentum to trample them \ 

\ there under foot — they opened upon them a broad sheet of livid ; 

\ death thatmowed them down almost as the Angel of destruction ; 
\ ^ . . . ' 

; the hosts of Sennacherib. It was indescribably awful. In ; 

\ the American entrenchments the rear lines loaded for the front, \ 

\ which enabled it to pour an unceasing stream of death upon ; 

\ their assailants, which, though they knew no fear, they could not ; 

\ resist ; and it seemed as though the very genius of desolation, '; 

'< in his wildest enthusiasm, reveled there, in the luxury of his I 

\ own power. Who can conceive it ! I have seen the cloud ', 

\ rising in the heavens, and heard the thunder bursting in start- \ 

\ ling peals from its mouth, and witnessed the terrific glare of the \ 

\ subtle and forked fire upon its bosom ; but never have I beheld { 

\ an array of these terrible representations of power, and heard ; 

\ in the midst of their blood-curdling sublimity, the groans of the \ 

\ dying, and seen the visages of the dead ! — The annals of war ;' 

; do not show a victory, I will not say so complete, but so une- \ 

\ qual : 2,000 there, were cold as the earth upon which they lay, ; 

\ and were never more to see their country or their kindred — ; 

\ among these was their gallant leader, who came to gather fresh \ 

\ laurels upon a new field — but the laurel was for another's brow, \ 

\ and the transactions of that day were the elements of another's \ 



27 



glory. Of the Americans, seven were killed, and six wounded. 
The victory of that day was the theme of a nation's song, and 
the burden of a nation's gratitude. And that day itself will go 
down to posterity with all the venerated remembrances which 
belong to the proudest achievements of history. 

But why should I dwell upon a theme, the remembrance of 
which is so vivid in every mind, and the force of whose asso- 
ciations may so easily be w^eakened by every touch. Here the 
English government was taught to know what before it did not 
more than half believe, that thenceforth a subjugation to colonial \ 
dependence was but a dream, and that a rough hand must no \ 
more be laid upon our commerce and our seamen. I do not 
forget that before this event, a treaty had been concluded ; but \ 

\ nevertheless, the lesson she there learned, she will never forget : \ 
and notwithstanding her grasping spirit, her immense power, \ 
and her readiness to strike whenever she thinks she may be the \ 
gainer, the admonitions administered by Him who ruled the for- 1 
tunes of that day, will induce her to pause, ere again she raises 
her iron hand, again^ men, who feel the fire of Saxon blood. 
I am sure this is no empty boast — that it is an enduring truth, 
and has done, and will do more for our protection and peace, 
than the rocky ramparts, and the cannon's threat. And for my- 
self, I do not wonder, that a grateful people should have hailed 
with acclamations of gratitude, the man, who more than others 
had impressed their enemies with reverence for their name, 
and respect for their rights. Neither do I wonder that such a 
people, judging for themselves, as they had a right to do, should 
have called such a man to the highest places of power and trust. 
But I must hasten to another department of the life and cha- 

\ racter of this great man — one which imposed new duties, and 
exacted the highest powers both of mind and heart. I refer to 
his administration of the Civil Government. But here let it not 
be supposed that I am so far unmindful of the occasion, and the 



28 



duty which I owe to all, as to present the Man of the Nation 
and the World, in a party view. Better, 1 trust, do I under- 
stand the obligations which bind me to a generous people, and | 
the hallowed associations of this sacred day, than to touch the 
strings which would interrupt the communion which flows from 
mind^ to mind, and intermingles heart with heart. I know the 
devotion and the bitterness of party strife— how it grapples its 
thousands, with hooks of steel, to a favorite leader, and deter- 
mines them with rancorous hostility against another. But is it 
not enough that the living, acting man should be the object of 
I sentiments like these ? Should they be made to pervade the 
' resting place of the dead ; the Holy Temple where with prayer 
and in the Spirit's presence, and with the Spirit's aid, as we hum- 
bly trust, we consecrate his virtues and his memory ; or the 
place where the indestructible mind, with all its increased and 
refined capacities, has found exemption from its trials, and a re- 
ward for all its faithfulness ? 

O, I would that we might all rightly understand ourselves, 
and'the duty which we owe to the character and the future his- 
tory of the man whose death we mourn— that we might at least 
appreciate the matchless devotion, and unwearying toil with 
which he sought the good of ourselves, and the generations that 
shall come after us, even though we might suppose that he did 
not always secure the means best calculated to accomplish the 
object. Methinks then, the heart that aimed the poisonous ar- 
row at the living man, would spare, if it could not cherish, the 
memory of the dead. But in how much he failed to accomplish 
I the best results, in the use of the wisest means, this generation 
is not competent to determine ; in the light of future events, the 
future historian will render a judgment from which there will 
be no appeal. To this jurisdiction, all who cherish his fame as 
the apple of their eye, are willing to commit him, as to the coun- 

1 sels of unerring truth. 

< 



! 



29 

Some of his measures were without precedent, either as no 
similar condition of things had before arisen, or as his views of 
policy and duty differed from those who went before him : 
Nothing is more certain than that he did not tread in the track 
which had been beaten by others, merely because they had pass- 
ed that way. But if in the light of experience, he saw the light 
of truth, none was more ready to follow as it led. 

In his administration of the Government we find him devoted- 
ly attachvrd to the Union of the States : here he saw the im- 
pregnable citadel of our safety ; and with a prophet's voice, he j 
has warned those whom it shelters and protects, against their t 
own destruction, in its fanatical demolition. He has told us I 
that the first division will be but the beginning of sorrows. And 
who can doubt the fact ? Union ! there is magic as well as 
power in the word. Disunion ! there is moral, if not legal trea- 
son in the sounti, and the literal signal of blood and death. If it 
be impossible but that offences must come — that wars and ru- 
mors of wars must greet our ears, O ! let them be for those 
who, in some sort, are made enemies by the intervention of 
mountains and of oceans — by those of foreign blood and strange 
speech : But not tor those of the same house-hold, who by their 
united resistance to a great foe, have obtained a name and a place 
which are so rapidly carrying them on to the ascendant among 
the nations. But once break the bond which binds all in one, 
and another can never be formed which will long bind togethera 
lesser number of the States. Talk of the union to be found in 
the want of diversity of interests, and it will be vain. If unity 
of interests is to constitute a ligament which is to make a peo- 
ple one, do we not find it in all those great interests specified in 
the Constitution ? In the equal protection and distribution of 
commercial privileges, and in united powers and a united will | 
in times of war. I 

Break down our Union, no matter though it be under the de- 1 



30 



I lusive idea of exemption from unequal burdens, and burdens 

; will thicken like the plagues of Egypt, and it will be a standing 

precedent for all unchastened ambition to glut itself at the foun- 

\ tains of power, though it send abroad for others the waters of' 

I Meribah, In this view of the subject, who cannot feel the force 

I of the laconic, but significant and pointed declaration, " The 

I Union, it must be preserved." And should the spirit of discord 

ever come, as with a felon's step he entered the garden of the 

East to seduce the blessed there from their allegiance, or in the 

shape of the great Apostate who led his adverse legions against 

\ the sons of light and peace, may this be the talisman to dispel 

the fatal delusion, or the signal to charge back his hosts to dis- 

j comfiture, and the distinction of increasing infamy — "The 

S Union, it must be preserved !" 

With him it was a matter of unceasing solicitude, to confine 
the action of the Government within the cleard^t constitutional 
limits. In this is to be found one of the strongest points of our 
political safety. Ever has he warned us by his official acts, 
and his personal admonition of the dangers of an absorbing and 
centralizing Government. If there be any wisdom or good in 
the free action and unimpaired sovereignty of State Govern- 
ments, then the sagacity and thef aithfulness of the Chief Magis- 
trate of the Union are to be appreciated, as with a steady hand 
he secures the rights of the one, and checks the encroachments 
of the other. Should the foundations of the Union be ever 
shaken, one great cause will be found in the exercise, by the 
General Government, of those powers which belong to the States. 
Seldom or never has it been the fact, that the States, in their 
legislation, have invaded the powers of Congress ; but the con- 
trary has often been true ; and in every instance of domestic 
conflict, the States have opposed the execution of some suppos- 
ed unrighteous law, and never sought to enforce their own. 
That they were always to be justified, I do not assert : but the 



31 



superior power is admonished by the fact, to tread more lightly 
upon the soil to which she has not an indisputable title. 

The removal of the Indians was a prominent measure in the 
history of his Administration. And however the sentiments of 
philantiiropy might not at the time have coincided, touching our 
benevolence and good faith towards the children of the forest, I 
believe all are now agreed, that their removal has resulted in 
their preservation and increased comfort, and prospective secu- 
rity. And thus he, who in the beginning was compelled to be 
their scourge, has in the end, been their benefactor. 

During the administration of General Jackson, the question of 
French indemnity assumed a character of deep interest, and 
threatening aspect. But his firm determination never to be 
mistaken, procured the measure of justice for those who were 
entitled, and awed the restive spirit of pride to silence and ac- 
quiescence. He suggested to that Government, with a signifi- 
cance, which she well understood, that though theloss of 25,000,- 
000 of Francs was an unimportant consideration, justice and 
national honor were not to be lightly esteemed. But why 
should I speak in detail ? His prominent and decisive mea- 
sures are familiar to the American mind. And though some- 
thing of party hostility may still pervade a portion of it, I think 
all must be actuated with impulses so genial and so noble, as to 
confess his exalted endowments and burning patriotism. It can 
not be doubted that he gave outline, and direction, in no small 
degree, to constitutional powers, such as had not before been 
given, and that in time to come they will constitute precedents to 
guide, or beacons to warn ; and for myself I cannot doubt 
which. But time, and events will here, as in the whole pro- 
gress of the human mind, disclose whatever there may be of 
error, and establish whatever there may be of truth. The im- 
press of his genius and his hand is deep upon his country's insti- 
tutions, and indelible upon her records. He has transfused into 



32 



them the living spirit, and stamped upon them the enduring 
signs, of his mind, his will, his affections. No man was ever en- 
dowed with a deeper and happier capacity to bear rule than 
himself. The evidence of this is to be found in his numerous 
battle-fields ; for when did he ever move against an enemy 
but to conquer ? And it is to be found in clearer proofs, in the 
more fearful conflicts of moral warfare. There are not want- 
ing those who can move undismayed amidst the hotest action, 
who will yet quail before the power of argument, and shrink 
from the opening batteries of the mind. But how was it with 
the mighty man whose name is our theme to-day ? Does the 
history of the civilized world show another, upon whom, as upon 
him has been poured tiie si ret) m, combined from a thousand 
sources, of long continued, deep, and scorching lava, who yet 
stood unscathed, and upon whom " the smell of the fire" had not 
passed ? I do nut know him. And I have often thought that 
here, was presented one of the sublimest spectacles that the 
world has ever beheld. A single man, relying not, as others 
have done, upon armed hosts, to give authority to his opinions 
and measures, against a tide of opposing power, made up of the 
mightiest minds, and the most determined will ; but simply upon 
the consciousness of his own strength, a sense of justice, and the 
: irrepressible force of truth. 

I said this irresistable man had conquered on every field where 
was heard the clash of arms, or seen the glimmering steel. But 
I ask, upon what field, where truth was the arrow's point, was 
he ever defeated ? In what encounter was he ever disabled, 
from what did he ever fail to rise victorious ? 

Andrew Jackson set his seal, not only upon the institutions of 
his country and the hearts of his countrymen ; but he has set it 
so high upon the roll of fame, in characters so clear and strong, 
that the nations ol' the world have looked upon it -with respect, 
and fear, and admiration. His history is a portion of the moral 



33 



; history of tlie world itself. His name and the character of ;' 
\ his administration of the Government, have been more effectual \ 
j to impress upon the strongest and haughtiest governments ofs 
; Europe a sense of our rights, and an abiding fear to invade \ 
\ them, than those of any other. Let no one shudder here, or ; 
\ suppose that I am so far led astray by a blind devotion, as that ; 
; I can not appreciate the name and the virtues of the immacu- \ 
'\ late Washington. But Washington's administration was one \ 
\ of experiment, in which the nations of the earth had no confi- \ 
\ dence,and to which American citizens themselves looked as much $ 
\ with hope as conviction. The powers of the government were ;' 
\ untested, and it remained to be seen what would be the results ;' 
; of the beautiful, but untried theory. In his intercourse with \ 
\ other powers he must necessarily proceed with caution, and \ 
\ persuade where he had a right to command. His administration \ 
\ therefore was one of diplomacy and moral suasion, while Jack- \ 
\ son's was one of demand, measured by the I'ule of reason and ] 

<* I* 

\ justice. For myself 1 caunot doubt that the spirit and tone \ 

'■; with which our foreign relations were maintained during his l 

' . . . . ' 

'', administration, have secured for us an estimate of national cha- ; 

; racter, which will do more for us than armies and navies. '', 

; . ; 

\ It is not often that the world produces a man who, by his mo- ; 
; ral powers, unaided by outward force, can inspire reverence '; 
\ for his name in courts and cabinets, and among the great masses \ 
\ of mankind, the illiterate as well as the learned, with the blood- ; 
; stained pirate in the dark inlets of the islands, and even the ; 
I wandering Arabs of the desert. But when it does, that man is ; 
I great, either in lawlessness and crime, or in virtue and usefulness, i 
i It has been said that circumstances make a man great — I 
I and if it be true, the converse of the proposition is equally true, i 
'■ that a great man creates circumstances ; circumstances that I 
; Stand as walls of defence and citadels of strength, the represen- 1 
\ tations of a nation's name and glory. Glory, it may be said, is \ 



34 



\ a school-boy phrase, and of empty significance ; and however \ 
I it may be true as applied to individuals, for nations, it is a sub- j 
\ stantial acquisition, and is equivalent to resources and power. I 
\ Jackson would have been great in any age, and in any quar- j 
i ter of the earth He would have sat upon the throne of the j 
I Czars with the same spirit of justice, and the same love for i 
1 mankind, with which he wielded the constitutional power of a I 
\ Republic. He would there have trampled upon monopolies, i 
\ and studied the good of the great masses, who " earn their \ 
i bread in the sweat of their brow." | 

I A man endowed by his Maker with an intuitive sense of rea- i 
I son, and of right, would have carried it with him as a part of \ 
I his inwoven constitution, whether among the Slavonic tribes or I 
\ the men of civilization and freedom. And whenever that Pro- \ 
\ vidence which gives direction to the affairs of men, shall bless \ 
'' the millions of the earth whose portion is oppression and sorrow, ;, 
'' with leaders endowed by His own hand with wisdom and be- \ 
\ nevolence, then shall they sit under their own vine, and the \ 
\ fruits of their labor shall not belong to another. \ 

\ But will any one whisper in his bosom, these are far-fetched ; 
; and abstract notions ? To me they appear otherwise. Is it that -; 
\ we have enjoyed the fruits of a firmly established and well de- \ 
\ fined Government so long, that we have forgotten their worth, \ 
$ or think they are ours by an everlasting right? Why has -; 
\ Spain been so long the scene of intestine strife and domestic ,; 
\ butchery ? She is alas, without the counsels of truth, and love of \ 
\ mankind. She has no guiding star lo which all can look as \ 
''- the centre of their confidence, their energies and their hopes. '; 
\ Why has not revolutionary Mexico attained the peace, the \ 
\ power, and the place among the family of nations, that our own '^ 
\ happy government has done? Why is she still the scene of '^ 
\ civil turmoil,tramplingunder foot her newly-formed Constitution, \ 
\ and substituting in its place a commander of armies ; to-day, \ 



35 



banishingthe man to whom, yesterday,all shouted their hosannas? 

Perhaps the reason may be supposed to be found in the dif- 
ference of the genius of the people and their institutions. But 
still the question is not answered. Why this difference ? Does 
it stand in the place of cause or effect ? I leave others to de- 
termine. But one thing needs no proof — the leaders have 
sought themslves, and not the peogle. With them the Divine, 
the prophetic spirit, which looks abroad over all, and does not 
forget the thousands yet to come to an inheritance which it 
should leave them, had no place. But in our hehalf it had. And 
whilst we look at our condition, and learn to appreciate our 
blessings, should not our hearts overflow with gratitude to Him 
who pulleth down one, and buildeth up another. Why 
should the over-ruling Mind which has given shape to a na- 
tion's institutions, and guaranteed prosperity and abundance in 
all her bor Jers, so seldom be made the thenae of our contem- 
plation and our praise ? 

Nothing so lightens the burdens of men, and scatters bless- 
ings and joy in their way, as wise and philanthropic govern- 
ments. It does more than a genial clime, and a fertile soil. 
I care not though men be planted upon a hard and un- 
generous soil, which is bound by ice, and whose drapery is 
snow ; even there they will grow and be strong, if the gov- 
ernment over them is paternal and just. And the whole his- 
tory of man shows, that nothing has so embittered his lot here, 
as the iron and merciless rule, which has not scrupled to strip him 
ofhis noble attributes, and convert him into a beast of burden. 

And now, my Fellow-Citizens, shall we not make it a subject 
of gratulation, that we enjoy exemption? That now, the con- 
stellation of united wisdom and goodness is so high in the hori- 
zon, and so clear in its light, as that by it we may ever guide our 
way. O ! the noble Constitution under which we live ! I 
look upon its broad foundations, its towering height, and its beau- 



36 



tiful walls, and with instinctive indignation at the thought alone, 
I ask what sacrilegious hand shall tear from that foundation a 
single stone, or daub those resplendant walls with untempered 
mortar ! O, may it stand where it now stands, with the doc- 
trines of its builders, and those who have ministered within it, 
fixed upon its summit, to guide all of this beloved Union, both 
now and hereafter, to an unmarred and priceless inheritance of j 
time, as the spire of the Holy Temple points upward in the light 
of Faith and Hope, to one of Eternity. 

And to you who followed this great Captain to do service 
for your country against those who came with murder and 
lust in their hearts, to fatten upon the substance of your coun- 
trymen, and to revel in the pollution of purity. What shall I say? 
I know not what ; and if I did, I do not know that I have the 
power to give it utterance. In that leader, you followed one 
actuated with no carrow desire to appropriate to himself the 
mere twinklings of a rush-light glory, to be extinguished with 
the occasion which produced it ; but one whose expansive affec- 
tions and inexhaustible benevolence, sought the good of others. 

But his course of usefulness is ended, and he has gone to his 
reward ; and for the service which under him you rendered 
your country, I give you the thanks of this vast assemblage, as a 
portion of those whom you served, and though distinction like 
his, is not for you and me, it will be our privilege according to 
our ability, each in his sphere, to imitate his great example in 
zeal and fidelity to our country's interests ; and I pray that it 
may be your privilege and your blessing, when like him you 
shall come to the end of your way, like him to look upon the 
great Destroyer as a friendly messenger, to call you to the bet- 
ter land, where strife shall be exchanged for peace, turmoil for 
rest, and enemies for firm and lasting friends ; and that when 
you shall have passed away, your children may not fail to reap 
\ the rewards of your labor and your patriotism. 



\ 



37 



Often have I seen those who were led to battle by this until*- \ 
ing soldier, and as often have I been struck with the admiration, 
and the heart's warm praises, of which he was the object. It 
would seem as though the sternness of the practiced soldierw^ould 
chill the intercourse of private friendship. But one of the most 
remarkable traits in the character of Jackson, was the strength 
with which he bound others to him in ties of the heart's best emo- 
tions. I do not suppose that any man was ever more effectual- 
ly the monarch of domestic empire, than he was — but it was • 
the dominion of love and not of fear. Each rendered his horn- 1 
age; and it was rewarded not in the spirit of duty, but of I 
kindness, that knew neither limit nor exhaustion. 

But there is another light in which I must not forbear to pre- 
sent the name of this great man : it is in the humility and exalt- 
ation of his christian character. However unwilling we may be 
to acknowledge the truth, all mere human achievement, save as | 
it subserves some high purpose of immortality, is an empty j 
thing ; and all the honor of man's acquiring, except as it is 
brought as a trophy to the Captain of Salvation, will soon ap- 
pear, to him at least to whom it belonged, as " sounding brass 
or a tinkling cymbal." 

I do not depreciate the well earned honors of the man who | 
has devoted his best days and energies to the service of his 
country, and the good of men, even though he have in view no 
results beyond their being here. Most sincerely do I venerate 
the man who has consecrated all his powers to the benefit of 
others, whether it were in the valor of the tented field, or th 
wisdom of civil council. But in my soul, I revere him who 
does in fact, hold all his high endowments, and noble deeds, in 
trust, for the promotion of a Glory above him, and who does not 
fear to admit that it is so. Man, as he is found in the masses, is 
a strange being — he pants and strives for immortality — I do not 
mean the inherent immortality of the soul ; for that is the por- 



38 



tion of all ; but that which his own hand shall acquire; a se- 
perate structure to be left behind him, when he shall have pass- 
ed away : But alas, how little does he care, when he has rear- 
ed and taken leave of the building, whether in his own after- 
life, he shall be a prince or a beggar, if so be, that mortal men 
like himself, look with wonder and delight upon the representa- 
tion of his name and his deeds. 

But General Jackson was a Christian. Great as were the 
powers of his mind, and enviable as was the reputation which 
was ever progressing from one new acquisition to another, with 
nothing to impede or dim, he counted them all as trifles, when 
compared with the acquisition of " The Wisdom that cometh 
down from Above." His was the religion which was charac- 
teristic, not only of truth, but of the man : With him it was not 
a mere mode ; an external thing, assumed to enhance the digni- 
ty of position, or to impart a feigned authority to opinions, or an 
unreal sanctity to sentiments: with him it was not a rule of high- 
er fashion and more refined intercourse, a thing to be worn, but 
never used; a tree of beauteous foliage, but barren of fruit. But 
it was a deep and vital principle — one which pervaded the 
sources of action, and chastened the gushing affections of the 
heart. From one who ministered to him in Holy Things, 
and who but a few years ago occupied the place where I now 
stand, I learned much of his religious character: He received 
from his lips the confession of his faith, enrolled him among the 
people of Israel, and broke to him the Bread of Life. From him 
I learned that the coldest and stormiest day never failed to find 
the weather-beaten veteran, laboring as he was under the weight 
of years and infirmities, in the place where he might hear the 
Story of Salvation. And there as the minister of Truth spoke 
of the condition of men under the rule of the Prince of Darkness 
and Perdition, and the Way of Deliverance by the Blood of the 
Great Sacrifice ; the rocky places of the soul were broken up. 



39 

and the tears of repentance and joy suffused the eyes that had 
looked with a steady gaze upon the concentrated formsof danger 
and death, and (^oursed down the cheeks that had never blanched 
\ with fear. O, it is a sublime spectacle to behold the undaunted 
spirit facing the cannon's mouth, and pressing like some unearth- 
ly genius over the hosts that are doing their work of carnage in 
the burning strife of hatred and revenge! But how much more, 
to see the proud spirit humbling itself under the influences of that 
Love which searches out the lost, and sets the prisoner free ! 
which invests with a nobler office, and prepares for nobler ser- 
vice, where they « are Kings and Priests unto God." 

It has been said that the early life of the departed Chief, was 
free from the restraints of religious principle. It may have 
been so — but if it were, how strong the power of Grace, as 
shown in the sequel ! It might be considered a sacrilegious ser- 
vice to compare the character and amount of men's religion ; 
and far be it from me to attempt it. But this I feel justified in 
saying, that no great man from our midst, has gone down to his 
grave, bearing stronger, brighter testimony to the foundation of 
the hope which is " as an anchor of the soul," upon the sea so 
troublous and so dark. 

If others have devoted themselves with equal efficacy to the 
service of their country, and opened the refreshing and inex- 
haustible fountains of political truth,and set up theenduring land- 
marks of social freedom ; he has done more than this. In his 
life and death, he has taught the thousand youthful aspirants, who 
will hereafter look to his great example, that there is a fountain 
deeper than that of political truth, and land-marks which guide 
the immortal mind to unfading honors and unbroken peace. 

To a clerical friend, and through him to the world, he de- 
clares the clearly defined principles of his faith, as a portion of 
his legacy to his countrymen. 

" Sir," said he, " I am in the hands of a merciful God. I 



40 



" have full confidence in his goodness and mercy. My lamp of 
« life is nearly out, and the last glimmer has come. I am 
" ready to depart when called. The Bible is true. The prin- 
" ciples and statutes of that Holy Book have been the rule of my 
" life, and I have tried to conform to its spirit as near as possible. 
" Upon that sacred volume 1 rest my hope of eternal salvation, 
" through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Savior, 
" Jesus Christ." How evangelical the view, how strong the 
faith, how bright the hope ! With what point and power does 
the language of the great Soldier of spiritual war here ap- 
ply: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith." This comprises the whole history of his 
mortal being, so full of incident, service, resistance and truth. 

Illustrious man ! thy course is finished but to be begun ! It is 
true, but few can wear the descending mantle ; — but all may 
drink at the fountains of truth, which thou hast deepened, and 
guide their way by the lights \yhich thou hast hung out ! And 
here we pause ; — for who can trace the Spirit's way, in its chariot 
of fire, though the radiance of ten thousand luminaries be scat- 
tered upon its track in its upward progress ; — who can stretch 
away in the strongest powers of his inner being, to behold the 
opening portal, or hear the voice of the illimitable harvest of ran- 
somed minds, as like the voice of many waters it goes up in long, 
and loud, and sweet ascriptions of adoration to Him who re- 
deemed them by his life ! ! 

Though this be too much for our grosser powers, and our un- 
sublimated natures here ; we can bring our service of thanks- 
giving, devotion and faith, as we now do, and lay it upon the 
altar of our Country and our God. '^ 



